How to sue your English Teacher!
How do you go about suing a cue builder? Just want to get my cue back.
- Thread starter Cuemaster98
- Start date
The bad time management is of course a big part of it, but only a part. When you are past due on people's cues (especially if it is by a long time and after multiple time estimates have already been broken) then you no longer have the "right" to take it easy with your work schedule in my opinion. You need to really try to maximize the hours you are putting in the shop in that case (bare minimum of 40 hours a week but you should probably be putting in 60 or 70) and you should also obviously be minimizing the time you are taking off for vacation and relaxing and such until you get caught up. Who cares if you want to take a week long fishing trip again this month, you have obligations to meet, obligations that you chose to accept so deal with them and get them honored.
I don't know what Dennis's schedule is, just saying that is what he should be doing if he isn't, and my experience is that the higher tiered cue makers aren't generally putting in 40+ hours a week, but instead, their cues sell for enough that they start choosing to work 10-15 hours a week building a cue here and there and enjoying all the free time that their upper tier status cue maker income allows them to have. They may spend a little more time in the shop than that but that is all the actual work time they put in, the bulk of their time in the shop is spent BSing with friends and customers and drinking coffee and playing pool and the like.
Another big part is lack of honesty. There is no way he actually believes have the stuff he says, including many/most of the time estimates that he gives people. He just commonly lies and makes stuff up so he doesn't have to deal with the discussion that would have to happen if he told the truth. While everybody can understand the desire to want to lie so you don't have to deal with it, it doesn't justify lying. Be a man and tell the truth and deal with whatever the fallout will be.
Probably the biggest problem of all is that he pretty much flat refuses to communicate with people. Lots of things are beyond our control, but unless you are in the hospital in a prolonged coma, there is never, ever, a justifiable excuse for not having good communication with people. None. He avoids his customers that he is over due on like the plague, much less ever being willing to initiate any communication himself. The funny thing is though that people will generally let you get away with absolute murder if you will just be honest with them and communicate well with them. When a customer's estimated due date comes up and you don't have their cue ready, just pick up the phone and call them and say "hey, your cue isn't going to be ready when I initially estimated it would be, to tell you the truth I've been slacking the last couple years not putting in that many hours and just kind of enjoying more extra free time, and that isn't a good enough excuse but I just wanted to be up front with you about the delay and let you know that at this point it could be a couple more years before I get to it". 95% percent of the time that customer is going to say "ok, just keep me in the loop", even if you have to make that phone call several times, but what they are always going to have a much harder time accepting is poor communication.
And in the rare case when you are honest and keep them fully in the loop and they finally get frustrated and cancel, who cares, you have a 20 year waiting list (or whatever it is), you are never going to have a shortage of customers until the day you die or retire, so just be honest. And I know you have the money to instantly refund whatever they have paid you in advance, so do it, even if it isn't the greatest timing for you, as that is your problem (that you created) not theirs. And if for some reason you really don't have the money in the bank at that moment, then just be honest about that too, because as was said above they deserve that and people will also bend over backwards to let you get away with murder when you do. "Hey I've been kind of irresponsible with my finances lately and to be honest I don't even have that much money in the bank right now to be able to refund you right now, but I will very shortly and will send it over asap as soon as I do." "Ok, no problem, just send it asap as soon as you get it" is the reply you are going to get 95% of the time. The worst thing you can possibly do is to fail to communicate and to be honest.
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another novella i skipped. say it two or three sentences or don't say it.
Minnesota Phat
Active member
The reply was meant for the OP, or others in similar situations. If the OP has the patience to read it, then he may have the patience required for success in the legal arena. If he doesn't have that much patience, then he should probably avoid litigation, since legal processes require a lot more patience than reading a half-page comment requires.
As for long comments in general, I think it's a matter of taste, and a matter of how invested you are in the question at issue. I read long comments all the time, and I find that longer comments are often more informative and thought-provoking than Twitter-sized comments - I even read actual novels sometimes.
I'm reminded of Fred "The Ogre" Palowakski from Revenge of the Nerds, for some reason. It would be hilarious if every time someone posted a comment that you find verbose, you posted a picture of Fred and exclaimed "NERDS!"
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Not reading this. Dennis works at least 60hrs a week, probably more
middleofnowhere
Registered
Cue makers generally enjoy what they do. It is not something they can't wait to be done with like most jobs. It is what they would rather be doing then anything else.
Building cues or 75% local repairs?
Ask him lol
OH No! That will just bog things down further!
I can't, he doesn't answer email or phone calls.
What needs to be said can't always or perhaps even usually be said in just a few words. I do agree with you on not being longer than necessary to convey all the important stuff (and I can be a bit more long winded than needed at times), but on the flip side I think the opposite is true even more often, which is that if you aren't going to back up what you are saying with the supporting evidence or at least an explanation, then don't bother saying it as it is just a worthless unsupported opinion that is wasting people's time. Only read my posts when you like learning.
middleofnowhere
Registered
I often make long posts because I use voice to text on my phone. I always have to go over them and edit. It is just so easy to talk you have no idea how long this is going to be till you see it on the page.What needs to be said can't always be said in just a few words. I do agree with you to a point (and I can be a bit more long winded than needed at times), but on the flip side I think the opposite is true even more often, which is that if you aren't going to back up what you are saying with the supporting evidence or at least an explanation, then don't bother saying it as it is just a worthless unsupported opinion that is wasting people's time. Only read my posts when you like learning.
Learn to use parahraphs and spacingWhat needs to be said can't always or perhaps even usually be said in just a few words. I do agree with you on not being longer than necessary to convey all the important stuff (and I can be a bit more long winded than needed at times), but on the flip side I think the opposite is true even more often, which is that if you aren't going to back up what you are saying with the supporting evidence or at least an explanation, then don't bother saying it as it is just a worthless unsupported opinion that is wasting people's time. Only read my posts when you like learning.
Jmho
Icbw
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even if he is behind because of no fault. everyone has to be communicated to honestly when it will be done. and have the option to get their cue back if they are not happy. he refuses to do either. and that is a sign of theft. if not theft, certainly dishonesty and no reason for anyone to do business with such a person.
people have recourse. since he is work at home a call to the zoning in his town as he probably doesnt have a variance for home business. a message that you are going to the city ,state , and federal tax authorities to have them check on his business receipts.
as you can be interested to see if he doesnt pay taxes on his cues since he doesnt care about his customers he certainly doesnt follow business procedures.
\ if he does all those things nothing gained. but the idea that you are going to start the process will distress anyone.
all he has to do is come forward and be honest and return all cues that customers want back. then try hard to regain his reputation. if he doesnt it speaks for itself.
people have recourse. since he is work at home a call to the zoning in his town as he probably doesnt have a variance for home business. a message that you are going to the city ,state , and federal tax authorities to have them check on his business receipts.
as you can be interested to see if he doesnt pay taxes on his cues since he doesnt care about his customers he certainly doesnt follow business procedures.
\ if he does all those things nothing gained. but the idea that you are going to start the process will distress anyone.
all he has to do is come forward and be honest and return all cues that customers want back. then try hard to regain his reputation. if he doesnt it speaks for itself.
Cuemaster98, has been silent, wonder if he got his Cue back?
middleofnowhere
Registered
You think he works from home and pays no taxes?